Life In Moments
by Roschelle Templar
Summary: A collection of one-shots and short fic featuring the FFVIII characters. Takes place before, during and after canon and will feature Squall and/or Laguna in most chapters.
1. More Than Enough

More Than Enough

 **Author's Note** : This takes place while Kiros, Laguna, and Ward were still in the Galbadian army.

* * *

"Laguna, where are the shelters?"

"Shelters?"

"Yes," Kiros said, frowning. "The shelters you were supposed to bring. The shelters you said you had already packed when I asked you about it before we left."

Laguna blinked hard a couple of times and started to laugh, a hesitant, nervous laugh that told Kiros everything he needed to know. And now, he was about to be treated with some ridiculous excuse.

"Well ok, you remember when you mentioned that there might be some wayward Moombas wandering around this area?" Laguna said.

"Yes," Kiros replied, curious to know where this was going.

"Well, that got me thinking: wouldn't it be nice if we could find them and try to make friends with them," Laguna continued. "I'm sure they could use some help out here. So then I started thinking about what would Moombas want someone to bring them. Unfortunately, I kinda got caught up in thinking about that and packing the shelters sort of slipped my mind."

Kiros shook his head and let his face fall into his palm. Leave it to Laguna to put them in this awful situation where they had no temporary shelters and were currently patrolling the Bika snowfields. Still, it was classic Laguna to do something like while trying to be nice to others.

Kiros was almost ready to let go of being annoyed at him when a suspicion suddenly popped into his mind.

"Wait a minute…you also packed a camera." Laguna scratched the back of his head, causing Kiros to glare again at his commander.

"Ok, so I also wanted to take some pictures with us and the Moombas," Laguna confessed. "I mean, helping out is good, but so is getting cute pictures." He cupped his chin with his hand. "I could have sworn that I had grabbed those shelters when I packed the camera. Oh well, you know what they say: there's no point in closing the barn door when the horses have already snuck out the back."

Kiros continued to scowl at him. He knew that smacking Laguna upside the head would technically be considered assault and that assaulting a superior officer was an offense that could get a person discharged from the Galbaldia army. However, Kiros was also aware that the people who came up with these regulations had never had to put up with Laguna's antics.

"Ah, I'm really sorry about this, Kiros," Laguna said. "What should we do now?"

Kiros let out a long sigh and shook his head again. It was useless to stay angry at Laguna, especially given the situation they were in. Nighttime would fall soon and the wind was starting to pick up. They needed to find a way to get out of this cold before the light was gone.

"We passed some deserted monster lairs less than a mile back," he said. "We could make a shelter out of one of them, but we will need to hurry."

Laguna nodded and they trudged back into one of the clumps of wooded areas they had passed a few minutes ago. They soon found a mound of rock and earth that could fit the two of them as long as they didn't stand up while inside. They gathered some branches with the leaves still on them to cover the entrance and some twigs to act as fuel for a fire.

* * *

By the time they were finished, the sun had set and Kiros immediately went to work lighting a small campfire. Meanwhile, Laguna searched through his knapsack until he let out a cry of triumph and pulled out a candy bar.

"At least we can have some dinner," he grinned. He broke the bar in half and each of them devoured their share in less than a minute.

After that, Kiros remained silent and stared at the fire, shivering every once in awhile. He hated the cold. Always had. Kiros wished that he could make the fire bigger, but then it could spread to the branches blocking the entrance so that option was out.

Suddenly, he felt Laguna move closer to him.

"We should stick together," Laguna said. "You know, share body head and all. I can give you my blanket if that would help."

"No," Kiros said, a hint of a smile returning. "This is plenty."


	2. Assets

Assets

 **Author's Note** : This takes place after my fic The Treasure in Details. Which means by this point, Squall knows who his father is as does the rest of the world...

 **Rebochan** : Aw thank you so much for that. :) I know it's been a while, but I am hoping to slowly add more stuff for FFVIII whenever I can starting with this one-shots. I really do hope you'll enjoy them.

* * *

There were plenty of days when Laguna Loire did not enjoy his job as the president of Esthar. Today was a perfect example of those days.

He had spent most of the day in a meeting with the Budget Committee: an annual event that he dreaded every year. He surprised himself this time by being able to stay awake for the whole thing. Part of that probably could be chalked up to the fact that he had discovered eight new ways to make paper airplanes from pages of the reports given to him before the meeting started.

The rest of it was definitely due to the periodic kicks to the shin that Kiros would give him when no one was looking. The thought of them still managed to make Laguna wince even though the meeting had finished two hours ago.

 _'Just you wait, Kiros,'_ he grumbled to himself. _'You've got to sleep some time…and I know for a fact that Mara is staying with friends this weekend….'_

Laguna smirked as he thought up a prank involving syrup and confetti and was working out the details of his plan when he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

"Mr. President? I have the quarterly intelligence reports."

Laguna sighed and slumped down again. He didn't have to ask to know that it was Tristian Bloc, the chief secretary of their intelligence agency. After the day he had already had, Laguna wasn't in the mood to deal with him, but then again, he also figured that it was better to get as many unpleasant things as possible over with today.

"Ah, come on in," Laguna called out, leaning back in his chair. As soon as he had said it, a lean, weasel-faced man who looked to be in his mid-fifties walked into the room, a thick file folder in his hands.

"I believe you find everything in order, Mr. President," Bloc said, placing the file at the center of Laguna's desk.

"Oh I'm sure I will," Laguna nodded, sitting up so he could glance through its contents. "But tell me again why we're still spying on our neighbors. I thought we were supposed to be getting along now."

"Treaties can be broken at any time, Mr. President," Bloc said blandly. "We should be prepared for that eventuality."

"Yeah, that's a pretty cynical outlook," Laguna huffed. "Why even bother with treaties if no one thinks that the other side is going to follow through with their terms?"

"There is something else I believe we need to discuss," Bloc said, ignoring Laguna's comment. "About the future of our intelligence program."

It was difficult, but Laguna managed to not roll his eyes. "Oh sure. Have a seat."

Bloc looked down at the chair next to him as if Laguna had asked a trick question. After a moment's deliberation, he sat down on the edge of it.

"Mr. President, it's true that Esthar is currently at peace with its neighbors, but that doesn't eliminate our need for vigilance. It simply means that we must reconsider our tactics for acquiring needed information."

"I getcha," Laguna nodded. "So what did you have in mind?"

"I believe we should take advantage of the new connections we have made in order to monitor the other governments we deal with now. Specifically, the connections you have made."

"That I've made?" Laguna echoed. "What do you mean?"

"SeeD," Bloc said. "Commander Leonhart runs Balamb Garden. And he and his people are very capable."

"Yeah, they are, aren't they?" Laguna grinned. "Squall's doing so great. I'm sure he's going to be a Headmaster in no time at all. But you know, SeeD is not exactly cheap to hire. Sure, it's not as if we're hurting for money, but I don't think I can justify throwing away that kind of money just so we can spy on our new friends. Besides, SeeD does lots of work for other governments and private clients too. There's no way we could keep them around all the time."

"And we wouldn't need to," Bloc said. "In fact, it would work out better if we didn't. By taking jobs for other governments and important private citizens, SeeD could gather all sorts of useful information about the politics and dealings that are going on in secret."

"Except, SeeD doesn't spill the jelly beans on their clients," Laguna said, frowning. "There's no way that Squall would allow something like that."

"But he is your son," Bloc replied. "Surely, he must have some measure of loyalty towards you. And he must understand how his cooperation could benefit you. I'm certain that if we explain to him how the information he gives us could give you the leverage you need to stay in power…."

Laguna shot up from his chair and slammed a hand onto his desk. "Mr. Bloc, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up: my son is not a 'connection' for you to take advantage of. You think we need some info and don't plan on hurting anyone to get it? Fine, be my guest. But you're not going to use my relationship with my son to get it. Is that understood?"

Bloc stood up and nodded his head slightly before leaving the office without another word. Once he was gone, Laguna picked up the hand he had smashed against the table and shook it in an attempt to get it to stop tingling.

 _'I gotta have a talk with Kiros about that guy. There has to be some way I could transfer him out of the intelligence sector. Maybe the budget department….?'_

A second later, the computer monitor on his desk pinged, letting him know that he got a message. Laguna plopped back down onto his chair and brought it up to read.

 _'I've got some time off after a job. Want to go sailing this weekend?'_

 _S.L._

Laguna grinned and started to type up a response. Going on a sailing trip with his son sounded like an ideal way to spend his weekend. As he typed, he reminded himself how lucky he was and how he had made a promise to do his absolute best to make the most of his second chance to be a father.


	3. The Space Before

The Space Before

 **Author's Note** : This takes place post-game after most of my other fics...

 **GenericUser:** Thank you so much. :) Squall and Laguna's relationship is one of the most fun dynamics for me in all of FFVIII so I've enjoyed coming up with short pieces for them again. Also, I agree that omitting Laguna's serious side completely is a mistake. Like you said, he was the president of Esthar for many years so I doubt he would have been able to pull that off without any wit and intelligence. It's just that he's also emotional and impulsive too which leads to most of his problems. XD

 **SilentStarlightSky** : Thank you. :) I love Laguna too and I hope I'll be able to come up with more one-shots in the future.

* * *

"Dad, what makes you think this place is haunted?"

Squall crossed his arms over his chest while Laguna stood near the exit, leaning forward so he could peer inside without actually going in. Laguna had called him two hours ago about a "possible monster infestation" in the presidential palace. Normally, Squall would have reminded Laguna that he had an elite squad of soldiers at his disposal, but something in his father's tone squashed that idea. Laguna had sounded somber as well as antsy. There was definitely more to this than just his father freaking out over some unidentified noises.

And Squall figured it would be better if he was the one to figure it out.

"Well….lots of stuff," Laguna said. "Stuff that no one can figure out. Like how everyone who walks in here gets a chill."

"That? That's easy to explain," Squall huffed. "There could be a fault in the climate control for this room."

"And there's the near-constant squeaks people hear when they walk around."

"Damage to the structural integrity of the floor."

"The lights keep trying to flicker out."

"Short circuits in the wiring."

"Ok, but what about the voices?" Laguna said with a pout. "The weird voices that are speaking in some language that no one around here recognizes?"

That got Squall's interest. "Are there any transistors close by that could be transmitting sound into this room?"

"None. Kiros checked into that," Laguna said, shaking his head emphatically.

Squall frowned and looked down at his arms that were still crossed over his chest. Even though all of the other phenomena could be easily explained by mundane causes; it seemed unlikely that all of them would be occurring at once. Sure, coincidences could happen, but that many at the same time could only be suspect.

Squall pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket and walked into the room. He tried the light switch, but the lights were so dim and intermittent, Squall knew he couldn't rely on them. He ran a hand down the nearest wall all the way down to the floor. Then he crouched down and examined the base where the wall touched the floor. Nothing appeared out of place.

Squall sighed and stood up….running into Laguna's chin along the way.

"Dad," Squall grumbled, rubbing the top of his head. "What are you doing? I thought you didn't want to go in here and were going to wait outside."

"And let you be in here all alone?" Laguna said. "No way."

Squall nodded and shined his flashlight toward the ceiling. Although he'd never admit it, he was glad that Laguna was there next to him. He couldn't put his finger on why, but there was something comforting about his father's presence.

A whisper of a voice tickled his ear and Squall froze.

"Squall? Did…did you hear…?"

"Yes," Squall said, his voice tight with tension. He scanned the room, but could see nothing that could account for the cold wisp of sound that he had heard. The way that Laguna stood perfectly still in a defensive pose told Squall that his father was concerned as well.

"Squall…I'm not sure, but…I think Adel used to meet people here. People she wasn't happy with."

Squall nodded in understanding. Most people did not go into detail about the cruelties that Adel had leveled on the citizens of Esthar. However, after seeing Adel and Ultimacia at work, it wasn't hard for Squall to imagine some of the possibilities.

Laguna grabbed his arm, his eyes caring, but also authoritative. "Squall, we should leave this room…now."

Squall nodded and allowed Laguna to guide him out of the room. As a sorcerer's knight, he was familiar with the insidious lure a sorcerer's presence can have on a place long after they are gone. He was grateful that Laguna was alert to that danger and was strong enough to see to his son before hightailing it out of there.

Because at that moment, Squall wasn't entirely sure if he would have been able to leave on his own.


	4. Perspective

Perspective

 **Author's Note** : This chapter takes place post-game and after the events in my Long Shadows Before Dawn fic.

* * *

"Isn't this great, Squall? The two of us here, in the wilderness, braving the elements together. No Palace guard, no SeeD missions to think about. Just us, these woods, and that great big sky above us. I'm telling ya, it doesn't get much better than this."

"…Laguna, did you make sure to pack your own tent?"

Laguna let out a sigh and glanced over at his son. He had thought that this camping trip would be a good way to spend quality time with Squall, but now he was starting to re-think that idea.

It had started a couple of weeks ago. Kiros and Ward had told Laguna that he needed to take a vacation, and Squall had managed to eke out some free time between SeeD missions and administrative duties at Balamb Garden. They had decided to spend a weekend together with Squall having no suggestions about what to do with their time. A camping trip had simply been the first thing that popped into Laguna's mind.

Of course, it wasn't quite as simple as that. Laguna had to practically beg his security detail…and Kiros in particular…to let him go without a huge armed guard. It took almost two hours of whining, but Laguna finally managed to pull it off.

Not that Laguna was sure that he had been entirely successful. He squinted at the trees in front of him for the fifth time in the last two hours. He was fairly certain that Kiros was out there somewhere, keeping an eye on things as usual. Sure, Laguna wouldn't see him and knew that it was a point of pride for Kiros that he wouldn't spot him for the whole weekend. Still, he was also confident that Kiros wouldn't intrude on their privacy and was secretly grateful that neither he nor Squall would have to worry about pesky monsters or random criminals ruining their weekend.

"Of course I remembered," Laguna finally answered. "…I think…yeah, I'm sure I did…at least, I'm sure I remembered the food. And the tent. Yeah, and the tent too."

Squall shook his head in exasperation which Laguna couldn't really blame him for. Squall was always so organized, so meticulous in how he planned every detail of his life. Laguna saw nothing inherently wrong with that as it seemed to work for Squall. Still, Laguna also figured that some spontaneity would be good for Squall once in a while which was another reason why he had chosen a camping trip. What could be more spontaneous that nature?

"Um, suppose, now just suppose, I didn't bring the tent," Laguna said. "I just want you to know that I don't snore. At least, that's what Kiros said when we were out on patrol together."

* * *

Later that night, the two of them were roasting some hot dogs over a campfire. Squall had set up the one tent the two of them would have to share while Laguna had gathered the firewood.

They had spent most of the day hiking down to the main river that ran through the heart of the forest. Once they found it, Laguna wished that he had thought of bringing some fishing poles, but Squall surprised him by pulling out a pair of compact poles from his knapsack. They made plans to go fishing early tomorrow morning although Squall had one stipulation.

"I get to cook the fish," he said. "After what you did to Irvine and Zell the last time you made your Balamb fish, there is no way I am going to allow you near a fish I plan on eating."

At the time, Laguna had made a comment about how Squall wasn't very adventurous, but had readily agreed to the condition. Laguna smiled a little as he watched his hot dog roast, but was suddenly concerned when he caught the somber expression on Squall's face.

"Squall? Is something wrong?"

Squall looked down at the stick in his hands. "Dad…do you really think that? That I'm not adventurous?"

Laguna inwardly kicked himself. He didn't want to ruin the mood of the rest of the weekend, so he'd have to answer that one carefully.

"Well…if you mean you do stuff just for fun or off the cuff, then no, you're not, really," he said. "But that's ok. There's other ways to be adventurous like wanting to try new things or discover new places. And I know you've done that stuff before."

Laguna leaned forward while plucking the hot dog off his stick and plopping it onto a bun. "There's nothing wrong with having your own way of doing things. That's what make it interesting….having all us see things differently."

Squall nodded, a trace of a smile on his face as he put his own hot dog together. "Is Kiros going to join us at some point?"

"Nah, let's let him think he's outsmarted us. I'm sure he brought his own food. Oh hey, if you're done, let's put out this fire. The sky is going to be really pretty tonight. I'm sure of it."

The smile grew on Squall's lips."Sure, Dad. Let's just finish dinner first."


	5. Slow Degrees

Slow Degrees

 **Author's Note:** This one also takes place after the events in the game and after the events my Long Shadows Before Dawn fic.

* * *

Squall frowned at the computer screen in front of him.

Even though he had become the commander of Balamb Garden, he had purposely chosen to continue to do field assignments for SeeD. Partially because it would be ideal to help train newer members of the organization, but also because he never was completely comfortable with his new position. Being a part of missions gave Squall confidence that he could still have a clear eye on what SeeD was doing in the world while also being the one who handed out assignments and made decisions that affected the lives of those living at Garden.

Not to mention that it gave him a good excuse to avoid doing paperwork every day.

Unfortunately, paperwork had a way of multiplying when it was neglected, an idea Laguna told him about frequently. Squall didn't always trust in the wisdom of his father's words, but this was one thing that he agreed with Laguna on right away.

Especially now that he was facing a week's worth of neglect on his computer.

Squall reached up and rubbed his forehead. He had a couple of SeeD personnel who assisted him on administrative things, but he was reluctant to delegate most of this to them. Delegating meant that he might not always know everything that was going on at Garden which Squall considered unacceptable.

Still, scrolling through more than one page of inventory invoices and progress reports made Squall question that stance even if it was just a little bit.

"Squall? Are you here?"

Squall looked up at the sound of Irvine's voice. He was more than a little surprised to hear it as it was Cosplay Night at Garden and was fully aware that a robot maid anime had recently become popular among the students. And yet, there was no mistaking that voice or the comfortable swagger of the gunman as he walked into Squall's office.

"There you are," Irvine smiled. "Selphie wanted me to tell you that Rinoa's still waiting for you to join the party. And that the Balamb Sweet Cakes she saved for you won't be around forever."

Squall let out a small sigh. He had thought more than once about telling Rinoa that he planned on skipping the cosplay party tonight, but never could bring himself to do it. Partially because he knew that he'd get a lecture about how he was working too much. And partially because he knew she was right about that.

Irvine moved to stand next to Squall behind his desk. "Six hundred unanswered communications?!" he said before letting out a long whistle. "No wonder why you haven't joined the party yet."

"Irvine, tell Rinoa that I'll be out there as soon as I…."

"Not a chance," Irvine chuckled. "We both know that you're not going to leave this office until you make a dent in this paperwork. And I don't want to deal with how Rinoa will react when she realizes how bad it is in here."

Squall sighed again and was about to try some other tactic to get Irvine to leave, but was stopped when Irvine pulled up a chair to sit next to him.

"Ok, how about I handle the inventory invoices while you get to some of those progress reports?" Irvine said, taking a spare laptop out of the desk drawer in front of him.

"Irvine, you don't have to…."

"Nah, I don't, nor do I want to, trust me," Irvine chuckled again. "But I think I get why you don't have Ralia or Teenia doing any of this even though they are your secretaries. Because they're trainees and they are still learning the ins and outs of running a Garden. Especially how you're going to run it."

Squall blinked in surprise and watched as Irvine leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the edge of his desk. "Look Squall, I know you don't like to delegate. And I'm sure Rinoa and Selphie and the rest of them know it too. But that's why I'm here getting ready to do the most boring job in all of Garden. Because you need to see that delegating isn't so bad. And I know it'll be easier for you to see that if one of us helps out first."

Squall rubbed his forehead again. A small part of him wanted to be annoyed at how Irvine was giving him no choice in the matter, but that was brushed aside by the gratefulness he felt.

"We won't go through all six hundred of these," Squall said. "I know you don't want to miss out on the costume rally."

"Absolutely not," Irvine said. "Even if I'm sure Selphie is going to win anyway."

"Irvine…I…."

"Just save me one of those Sweet Cakes, ok?" Irvine grinned at him. "Consider the rest of it just what friends are for."


End file.
